So, I've been notified that the 100mb trial that TelstraClear has running in Wellington is due to finish at the end of January 2011, and I have given some feedback around what I thought the service was good for:

1. iTunes2. YouTube HD Video3. The ever-present Microsoft and Apple patchs, regular and clockwork and flippin enormous every time4. Virtual working (Citrix, VMWare and so on), due to the need for LOW latency.

I also found a useful extra which I thought were quite good:

Plays For Sure content. Over xmas, my kids got some DVD's they wanted to watch on dad's iPod. These DVD's came with the option to get a digital version that works across a number of widgets.

Each DVD has a unique 500-number key, but once entered correctly you get to DOWNLOAD a new file that gets deposited in your library (iTunes in my case). Each movie is high-qual, scales from iPod to 24" monitor without artifacting. and is 1.25GB in size.

In my previous article, I discussed 'Always On' - the concept whereby you can always get what you want, with blistering speed (http://www.geekzone.co.nz/antoniosk/7513). This was one of those times that speed mattered - and the movies just flew down. I have also downloaded a few hefty album CD's, which come replete with Video Singles - fantastic, beautifally encoded content that looks the biz. And boy does it burn the GB's.

I don't really care that this doesn't have 'GEEK' appeal; I am well capable of finding filched content like most people, but I choose not to, because the experience is just so poor - and to what end? I've got friends that try to get the latest movies which have been camcorded from the theatre and sent out on the torrents... oooo, now there's something I'd like to share, dodgy video with people coughing in the background. Fun.

It reminds me of watching the cricket at the basin by climbing the trees; sure, you got away without a ticket, but it was a pain in the bum (literally) and ultimately not that enjoyable.

100mb is not fibre. fibre is a technology that could be used to deliver high speed connections, of which internet is one possibility, but which also allows high-grade video, high quality voice, multiple call lines into a premises and so on. But fibre means new powered equipment in the premises, video-capable devices (do YOU see a camera on your TV?), new computers, and upgrades.

Yet on the whole, this is becoming more frequent. Mobiles turnover pretty fast, and they come with a huge range of built-in capability. My mobile is 4 years old (really), and if I ever get another I know it's replacement will be 10x better than what it can do now. It will be replaced when it finally dies, by necessity, like nearly all mobiles (and judging by performance, that's about 5 weeks away). My computer is also 4 years old - an eternity in technology lifecycle. The next generation of consoles - Playstation 4, Wii 2, Xbox 720, whatever - will all be wifi'd to an inch of their life, ready for high-speed internet in the home.

Yet we wring our hands over what a change in network technology will do. Therein lies the rub, and it's not the show-stopper people make it out to be. Sure, as a world we got used to having landlines that were powered from the exchange, meaning we could make a 111 call in a power outage. Many of these folks will also have DECT phones which need mains to run, and even more people in younger demographics go mobile only - battery powered. So what we actually got used to was ALWAYS ON; the comfort that came with knowing you could make an emergency call, should you need to. THAT is what needs to be worked on - not what can go wrong, but how we turn the change into opportunity, and just get on with it.

Thankfully, some companies are. Others are working towards getting on with it. But get on with it we should. Where there are services already, people should sell. The metro areas of the main cities I believe are pretty well served, even if many the telco's have a poor to abysmal public record of delivery. It is for those areas that don't have choice where there are lots of people that next energies should go: Greater Auckland and Waikato. Hawkes Bay certainly. Taranaki too. Manawatu seems to have some choice. Greater Canterbury certainly needs some now. Otago/Queenstown and Southland.

I read a great quote the other day:Amateurs talk about making change. The achievers just get on and do it, day by day.

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antoniosk's profile

Antonios Karantze
Wellington
New Zealand

I'm a born and bred Wellingtonian, and have chosen IT and Telecommunications as my industry, as a Commercial Manager.

I'm a fan of technology, and what it can do for people and business... and I enjoy bringing new things to market and seeing them grow. Enjoy the blog, take the time to think about what I write - it's not technology heavy, and is my reflection on life and the people around me.

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